Conventionally, various basic substances, for example, basic metal salts such as potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, barium hydroxide or the like are used as a catalyst for producing organosilicon compounds such as an organopolysiloxane and the like via a condensation reaction of a silicon atom-bonded hydroxy group, a silicon atom-bonded alkoxy group, or other silicon atom-bonded functional groups.
On the other hand, in Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S46-21602; Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S47-44040; Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H04-225031; and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H05-43694, a tetramethylammonium hydroxide compound is known as a catalyst for obtaining an organopolysiloxane with a high molecular weight by means of ring-opening polymerization of a cyclic siloxane with a low molecular weight such as octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane or the like. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-328231 describes that a silsesquioxane derivative having a ladder or random structure is produced by co-hydrolyzing and co-condensing two types of trialkoxysiloxanes, and tetramethylammonium hydroxide is used in the Examples.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. S59-176326 describes a method for making a diorganopolysiloxane with a low molecular weight in which both terminals of the molecular chain thereof are blocked with hydroxy groups have a high molecular weight, in the presence of a filler such as silica or the like using, as a catalyst, a reaction mixture of a quaternary phosphonium hydroxide compound and a diorganosiloxane with a low molecular weight.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S46-21602
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S47-44040
[Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H04-225031
[Patent Document 4] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H05-43694
[Patent Document 5] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. S59-176326
[Patent Document 6] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-328231